Samson has reclaimed his place at the top of the order after a prolonged period of instability in his T20I career. Earlier, he was drafted into the Indian T20 side and opened alongside Abhishek Sharma. During that phase, Shubman Gill was also tried as an opener but struggled to find consistency with the bat and was eventually dropped, clearing the path for Samson to return as opener with Abhishek.
Statistically, Samson’s case as an opener is compelling. In just 18 T20I innings at the top of the order, he has scored three centuries, averaging 32.88 with an impressive strike rate of 178.02. Among Indian openers with over 500 T20I runs, only Abhishek Sharma boasts a higher strike rate at 190.40. Despite these numbers, Samson spent months adapting to different batting roles due to team requirements, a phase that brought insecurity and self-doubt for both him and Gill.
